Awaken Yoga of Saint Petersburg & Clearwater

I moved to St Petersburg in November 2009 after becoming disabled with a neurological disorder.  Although I had practiced yoga once a week at my gym, I had slowly lost strength, flexibility and stamina.  Luckily, I found Vandana’s twice weekly class at Sunken Gardens the week I arrived.  The outdoor setting was inspiring.  I committed to attending every class even though I spent a quarter of the time in child’s pose.  Vandana was so supportive and helped me to find alternative postures to accommodate my challenges.  Slowly I began to build strength and flexibility.  When Vandana added the extra two classes each week, I was ready.  The extra classes accelerated my progress.  I could hold a downward facing dog with little strain.  I could hold my arms over my head, a seemingly small thing, but something I had not been able to do in years.  The greatest gift was taking back control of my body.

An added bonus was the community of interesting and supportive people I met in class and at Vandana’s monthly Karma Kitchen.  I love the Fall classes and embrace the challenge of learning Kundalini yoga.

-Gail Kelley